"I am telling the truth, I'm making jokes that people can relate to and see on a daily basis," says Vallejo comedian Abraham Woodliff.
[Ads /]
The 27-year-old Bay Area native is a writer, comedian, and founder of the popular Facebook page 'Bay Area Memes.'
A meme is a social or cultural idea that is accompanied by a viral photo with humorous text.
The memes Woodliff creates are hard-hitting jokes that push boundaries, but reflect real issues happening in the Bay Area.
Many of the page's memes talk about the Bay Area's major issues like crime, housing, and traffic.
"It's a comedic platform specifically to the Bay Area working class, which I feel is getting pushed out," says Woodliff.
"The people who made the culture are getting pushed out. People are moving to Sacramento or the farthest reaches of the Bay Area, or they are leaving the state. I have multiple friends that have moved to Texas, Oregon, and Arizona. It's unfortunate."
Two years ago Woodliff created 'Bay Area Memes' Facebook page in his garage in Vallejo.
The page currently has over 50,000 followers and receives hundreds of user submissions a day.
Last month the page hit two million timelines on Facebook.
"Honestly, this might sound crazy, but I was excited to get a thousand followers and it happened in the first month. Then it started spiraling out of control. Then I started to see that there was some real potential behind this." says Woodliff.
Bay Area memes popularity started to explode when Woodliff would post his memes on community Facebook pages.
"One of the things that people don't realize is the power of community pages especially in Bay Area towns that are overlooked like Vallejo. I promoted on Concord community pages on Facebook, Antioch pages, Vallejo, and Richmond. Basically out of the zeitgeist of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland," says Woodliff.
He creates about five posts a day with clever, funny, and relatable captions.
He finds inspiration by confronting issues in the Bay Area while making people laugh.
"Living in the Bay Area you can come up with them (memes). You see something and think how can I connect that to something creative.
Especially when there are problems in the Bay Area like housing inequality and wealth inequality," says Woodliff.
[Ads /]
"How can I make a joke about that but also shed some light on some of these issues and get people talking about it."
Woodliff wanted to make a platform for himself to promote his comedy and writing.
[Ads /]
Woodliff's friend Damon Duran, an East Bay Native helps by moderating the comments.
"At first it was just a joke page and as it grew it became a platform. It's cool to watch it come from where it was to where it is now," says Duran.
"One of the coolest things about moderating the comments is seeing people spark up conversation about where they're from amongst each other. It is just cool to watch something like that just bloom."
The page has caught the attention of local celebrities like Iamsu, The HBK Gang, and Rapper Too Short.
Bay Area memes is currently on Facebook and Instagram and hopes to expand to multiple social media platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, and Snapchat.
"It's crazy to see the reach that this has," says Woodliff. "This was all an experiment and it worked out well."
DISCLAIMER: 'Bay Area Memes' Facebook page may contain offensive material. Some content may contain profanity and mature subject matter.
Check out more stories and videos about Building a Better Bay Area.